Tarsos, Cilicia (Tiribazos, satrap)
[B]Tarsos, Cilicia (Tiribazos satrap; 386-380 BC.)
AR Obol[/B]
[u]Obv[/u]: Youthful male bust, facing right.
[u]Rev[/u]: Nymph kneeling left casting astragaloi (knuckle bones); lotus flower below; dotted circular border.
[u]Attribution[/u]: SNG Levante 65; SNG France 239
[u]Provenance[/u]: ex. Agora Numismatics, 3.26.08
[u]Weight[/u]: 0.52 gm
[u]Maximal Diameter[/u]: 10.15 mm
[u]Axis[/u]: 6
[u]Note[/u]: While not formally recognized as a satrapal issue of Tiribazos, the nymph/astragaloi/lotus motif on this obol is identical (minus the legend) to a stater known to be issued by Tiribazos (see SNG Levante 64, SNG v. Aulock 5915, or SNG France 238). Such a faithful conformity in motifs between these two issues argues for a common political origin.
Tarsus, capital of Cilicia, on Cydmus fl., at one time near its mouth, but now 13 m. inland. Built "in one and the same day with Anchiale," by Sardanapalus. A celebrated seat of learning. The birth-place of St. Paul; of the stoics Antipater, Archedamus, and Nestor; of Athenodorus and Cordylion; of Nestor, the tutor of Marcellus; of Plutiades and Diogenes; of the grammarians Artemidorus and Diodorus; and of the dramatist Dionysiades (Classical Gazetteer, William Hazlit, 1851; pg. 336).
GK280
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